Jays bats come to life, crush Rays

Blue Jays 12 Rays 7

We interrupt this recap to say that the catch by Kevin Pillar, in the 7th inning, might have been the best catch I've ever seen.

After two frustrating games in a row, the Jays bats finally cleared customs and  were used to lay a beating on the Rays.

The Jays scored in each of the first 5 innings:

• 1st inning: 2 runs off a  Jose Bautista 2 run homer.
• 2nd inning: 3 runs on singles from Jose Reyes and Josh Donaldson score Justin Smoak (Reyes) and Kevin Pillar and Dalton Pompey (Donaldson).
• 3rd inning: 2 runs on run scoring doubles from Pillar and Devon Travis..
• 4th inning: 2 runs on a Justin Smoak single.
• 5th inning: 2 runs on a Travis home run and a Donaldson RBI double.

They rested for an inning, then Dalton Pompey hit a solo homer in the 7th.

We had 13 hits. Donaldson (I think we'll see him in the 2 spot in the order for the next while) and Travis had 3 each. Pillar and Pompey had 2 each. Encarnacion and Navarro were the only starters to go 0 for. And we had 3 home runs, one each for Bautista, Travis and Pompey.

Steve Tolleson came into the game in the 5th inning to let Reyes have a rest in the blowout. He made a nice play at short.

Mark Buehrle was pretty good, he went 6 innings. The first 4 were scoreless, then he gave up a solo homer to Steven Souza in the 5th and a 2-run shot to someone who claims to be named Mikie Mahtook. But, by the 5th, he had the game won and was just throwing strikes.

Todd Redmond pitched a quick 7th and 8th inning, then had trouble in the 9, getting an out then giving up a walk and 3 straight hits. Colt Hynes came in and got 1 out, but gave up a walk and a hit and suddenly Brett Cecil was in the game to get the last out. By the time the dust cleared the Rays had 4 runs, not that it mattered, with the Jays still up by 5.

Jays of the Day, well I feel pretty safe in saying number 42 gets JoD but we'll give them to Buehrle (.132 WPA), Bautista (.157), Donaldson (.097, for a 3 for 5, batting in the 2 spot). I'm giving on to Pillar for that catch. I'm giving Travis an honorable mention for the 3 for 4 night with a home run and a double that was only a couple of feet short of a home run.

No Suckage Jays.

We had 1605 comments in the GameThreads...pretty good considering the NHL Playoffs started tonight (GO FLAMES). DangYouToHeck led the way.Good job sir.